


A Way Home

by SpaceCrazyArtist



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Sharing a Bed, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Steve Rogers keeps them alive, Stranded, Tony Stark is a genius, Wilderness Survival, stuck together, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:55:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28044297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceCrazyArtist/pseuds/SpaceCrazyArtist
Summary: Tony and Steve find themselves stranded on another planet with no idea how they got there and no idea how to get home. A day turns into two, then three, a week turns into a month, and then two months, and still, there’s no solution in sight. They make their new paradise planet home, with plenty of food and water, and a comfortable place to sleep. When Steve is caught in a plasma storm, Tony must redouble his efforts before the next one threatens to tear them apart. Literally.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 46
Kudos: 89
Collections: Star Spangled Secret Santa 2020





	A Way Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xxDustNight88](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/gifts).



The impact was jarring; it sucked the air from Steve’s lungs and made his eyes water. He panted, trying to get his bearings, and wondered if he’d somehow gone deaf from the sudden impact. All the noise from Manhattan and the Avengers’ latest fight with a new villain stopped the second Steve landed on his back. He vaguely remembered Iron Man’s arms wrapping around his chest and them flipping before impact, but he was expecting to be sailing through a concrete building, not landing on the ground. He blinked a few times, trying to get his vision to stop swimming.

"You okay?" Steve gasped. The sound of his own voice made him freeze; he could hear himself, and as he concentrated, he could hear Tony’s panicked voice under him, which meant he wasn’t going deaf. It was just suddenly very, very quiet. Rolling to the left, Steve slid off Tony’s body onto his hands and knees and looked around. “Tony,” he whispered, his eyes widening as he took in their surroundings.

Steve turned, finally hearing Tony calling out for his AI. “Jarvis!?” Tony’s voice was frantic. The suit was dark, the helmet all but destroyed, but the arc reactor was shining bright. Steve breathed a sigh of relief; a world without Tony Stark was not a world Steve wanted to live in. Even outside his recent realization of the small crush he was harboring on the man, being stuck on an unknown planet alone wasn’t appealing. “Come on, buddy, I know you're there," Tony called again, his voice rising in panic. His breaths were coming in short panting bursts, and it took no effort for Steve to rip the helmet from his face and get his hands on Tony’s cheeks. 

The brown eyes were unfocused, and a faint sheen of sweat covered Tony’s forehead. “Tony,” Steve whispered gently, “Tony, listen to my voice. Just breathe, Tony, you’re okay. Breathe in.” He paused for a count of ten, humming as he did so, ”and breathe out.” He hummed for another count of 10. After three rounds, Tony’s breathing slowed, and his eyes started to clear until he could focus on Steve’s face. “Hey,” Steve whispered.

Instead of answering, Tony pushed Steve’s hands away and sat up. He glared down at the destroyed helmet before looking around, his eyes widening just as Steve’s had. Where they landed was like nothing Steve had ever seen. It was dark, but there was light coming from a full moon low on the horizon. The illumination showed a vast city with towering skyscrapers in ruins and overrun streets. They were on a plateau, which gave them the perfect vantage point of the town below. Overhead, there were stars clearly visible even with the moon’s bright light and rings tilted at an angle. Behind them were woods and a slope gentle enough for them to reach the city below. 

The short breaths started to pick up again, and Steve looked over at his friend. “Tony?” he asked, unsure of what had caused it. Sure, the helmet was dead, and from what Steve understood of the technology (which was admittedly not very much), if the helmet was off-line, that meant no JARVIS. Since the AI was the driving force behind pretty much all of Tony’s tech, and really his life, it was little wonder that without that connection, Tony would feel lost, but the panic attacks didn’t make sense. “Hey, hey!” He pressed his hands to the sides of Tony’s cheeks again and forced him to focus. “Are you going to be alright? We can call for a medic once we figure out where we are.”

The laugh Tony gave was anything but humorous. “Sorry, Cap,” he answered, "but we're not in Kansas anymore." 

Translating Tony Stark to English always took a second in Steve's brain, but the Wizard of Oz reference he got right away. He gave a small smile, then immediately frowned and stared up at the sky again. Of course, rings, Earth didn’t have rings. "What if—” he paused and looked at the rings again. Something in the east caught his eye, and his eyes widened. A second moon was rising, larger than the first and giving them more light to see. There was no mistaking it— they weren’t on Earth. “Shit,” Steve breathed. The look Tony sent his way told him the other man was thinking the same thing.

Instead of getting up, Tony started ripping off pieces of the suit. It didn’t look easy, but ten minutes later, he was standing in jeans and a t-shirt. The night air was thankfully not too cold, and it was a miracle they’d landed on a planet that had enough oxygen to breathe. Of course, there was now the question of how the hell they landed on another planet, and how would they get off?

“I need to fix the helmet,” Tony said, answering Steve’s internal question, “Then we can call for someone to come get us… I hope.” He sighed again and shook his head. “How the hell did we even get here?” There was the other unasked question. “What do you remember?”

Steve looked up at the moons again as he thought. It would have been beautiful in any other situation, and Steve would have wanted to stare in wonder, but they didn’t have that luxury. “The sorceress was in front of us. Clint shot an arrow, but she deflected it, and it went off right in front of me. The shock wave threw me back.” His head was still fuzzy from the blast and everything else, but he remembered that clearly. “You tried to catch me before I hit the building, and then we were here.” Tony was nodding. “Wherever here is.”

“Closer to the Andromeda galaxy than Earth, that much is clear.” Tony pointed to the sky. As bright as the full moon on Earth, and just as large, was another galaxy peeking over the edge of the far off mountain peak. Again, Steve couldn’t help but stare. “It’s interesting we landed on a planet where Andromeda’s facing the same direction as it does on Earth, only much closer.” He paused, then chuckled, though again it held little humor. “You know, it would look like that from Earth too if it was just a bit brighter.” 

“So what does it mean?” Steve was smart, but he wasn’t a scientist. He knew about constellations and the planets, and he knew what Andromeda was, but he didn’t know what that meant for them. “How do we get back?”

Instead of answering, Tony bent to look at his helmet. He poked at it a bit, pressing on the metal, and ran his fingers along the inside edge. “We’re somewhere between that galaxy and Earth,” he answered with a shrug, “and I have no idea how we got here, so I have no idea how we’re going to get back.” He grabbed the second half of his helmet and started walking. 

Even in the dark, there was a clear path leading down the plateau to the city, which couldn’t have been more than a few miles’ walk. Within half an hour, the two were entering the town by a well-worn, half-paved road. It looked so similar to how an old road on Earth would look, paved with black asphalt-looking material and wide enough for at least one vehicle to pass if not two. The grass and a few bushes were pushing up out of the paving where large holes had formed. The first building they came to was run down almost to the point of nonexistence, but the foundation was still standing, along with one wall. There was some debris, but mostly, it was overgrown with foliage. The next several buildings looked the same, but as they walked, the small individual houses turned into larger structures, then three-story buildings, until they were walking into the heart of the city, with crumbling skyscrapers to rival those in New York. 

There were so many questions rolling through Steve’s head, and where they were was only one of them. Some race obviously inhabited the planet, or once inhabited it, so what happened to the people? There didn’t seem to be radiation in the air, which ruled out a nuclear attack or meltdown, and there were no scorch marks or decaying bodies; it was as if the entire civilization suddenly vanished. “Where are all the people?” Steve asked, suddenly needing to hear something, even if it was his own voice. 

For a moment, it seemed as if Tony wouldn’t answer, but he stopped suddenly and turned to look around. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” Steve agreed; he didn’t like it either. It was too quiet and too dark, even with the light from the moons. "We need to find shelter and a place I can work on my helmet; we'll work on water and food in the morning." He looked up at Steve. "If there is a morning."

"Not funny," Steve chastised. Tony only laughed in reply, but at least he wasn’t having panic attacks anymore. “So, a place to settle down, and once it’s light, we go exploring. There has to be more to this planet than one city.” Tony shrugged and started to walk. He looked right and left, then changed directions towards the moons moving quickly across the sky. Steve wondered if that meant days on the new planet were shorter than on Earth, but he didn’t care enough to ask. “Hey,” he called out, running to catch his friend. His fingers curled around Tony’s slender wrist. Tony’s pulse was slightly elevated, but nothing like it was when they’d landed. The contact sent a jolt through Steve that felt both strange and good simultaneously, and he quickly let go. 

Tony looked down at his wrist, then up at Steve. “Sorry, I was thinking.” He paused, then chuckled. “Uh, yeah, a place to set up camp is a good start. I need a workstation.” He shrugged and looked around before choosing a new direction.

There was no way to tell how many Earth hours passed before they found a suitable place to settle down. The sky was getting lighter in the east, creating hues of pink and purple, making it easier to see what was around them. They found a mostly intact dwelling on the outskirts of the city; the house was small, with vines growing up the three sides that were still standing, and a soft mossy green grass covered most of the interior. A wood-burning stove sat in the corner of what was once a kitchen, with a metal table against the far wall. There were no chairs, but it was a start. There was only one room upstairs with a worn bed. A small door leading to what Steve guessed was a bathing chamber held a deep tub set into the back of the wall, what was once a sink, and a small linen closet still stocked with towels and sheets for the bed. It was fortunate that the upstairs room didn’t span the entire house, and therefore still had all four walls. Steve hoped the roof didn’t leak. 

Tony's laugh pulled Steve out of his thoughts, and he looked over to see his friend clearing away some of the foliage and beating the dust out of the bed. It looked to be in excellent condition, all things considering. Steve shook his head and smiled. "You want to share the joke?"

"Oh, come on, Cap!" Tony exclaimed with a laugh, "it's the oldest cliche in the book! One bed?!" He pointed to the dusty four-poster king-size bed still sitting against the wall. There were dirty pillows and even dirtier blankets with several holes, but despite that, it looked soft and inviting after the long day or night they'd had. Tony grinned. 

One bed. 

They would have to sleep in the same bed. 

Together. 

With less than a foot of space between them. 

It was both a dream and a nightmare. Steve could feel his face heating up, and he could only hope it wouldn’t turn as red as he feared. Most of the time, they were at odds, fighting about how best to take out an enemy or when it was time to stop with the jokes and get serious. But as much as Tony Stark seemed to get under Steve’s skin and push all the right buttons, it still didn’t stop him from wanting to pull the man close and kiss him senseless. He wondered if kissing Tony would get him to shut up; he doubted it. Tony loved the sound of his own voice; it was fortunate that, although contrary to the outside appearance, Steve liked to hear his voice too.

There weren’t many options for a house that had two beds. Most of the buildings they’d passed were discarded as a possibility for one reason or another. Some had no roofs, some no walls, others were too tall, and there was a fear of them collapsing overnight (although that was unlikely). One of the houses they’d considered using did have two upstairs rooms but also an infestation of what looked to be spiders. There was no way Steve was going to deal with that situation. Alien spiders was just not something he was awake enough to contemplate. “I can take the floor," Steve finally answered, trying to get his blush under control. It wasn’t an appealing option with how tired he was, but he would take the floor if Tony wanted him to. Tony only shook his head and continued to chuckle. 

The bed turned out to be very soft, and the events of the day seemed to slam into Steve. He groaned, moving his stiff, bruised limbs until he reached his shoes and pulled off his boots. He decided that while it wasn’t ideal to sleep without clothing just yet, he needed to inspect his body to make sure nothing was too permanently damaged. He was sore but also high on adrenaline and likely wasn’t feeling the effects of whatever wounds he’d suffered. There was a large bruise on his side and he pressed on it to make sure it wasn’t a broken rib. Taking a few deep breaths and pressing on the area proved it just to be a bruise. It would hurt for a while but ultimately wasn’t worth the worry. He turned around and gasped.

Tony had his shirt off, too, likely for the same reason as Steve, and was facing away. There was a large bruise on the back of his neck and one on his side. Reaching out, Steve carefully pressed his fingers against the blemish on Tony’s neck. “How bad does it hurt?” he asked, wanting to make sure his friend hadn’t cracked a vertebrae or his skull. 

It was silent for a moment while Tony seemed to take stock of his own body. He breathed in and out a few times, taking in deep lungfuls of air. He pressed on various parts of his body, but after a minute, he shrugged and turned to look at Steve. “Bruised and cut, but nothing permanent.” His eyes trailed to Steve’s chest to linger on his soul mark. "It's going to take time to figure out how to send a signal," Tony explained, still staring. Steve had always liked his mark; it was a beautiful upside-down triangle with various straight lines running through it, almost like a gem but not quite. Most people’s marks were like Warshak paintings, almost unrecognizable, but not Steve’s. His geometric pattern was near his heart, just to the right of his left nipple. It had always been a source of pride for him, but with Tony staring, he had to fight the urge to cover up.

The man cleared his throat and finally looked away to finish taking off his shoes and socks. "I’m going to need to find some tech; wiring or circuits or something,” he explained, “I saw some buildings that looked promising, so we’ll see tomorrow." He paused, then chuckled. "Though I wish I knew what caused everyone to…" He left it hanging, but Steve didn't need him to finish; he’d been thinking the same thing the entire time they’d been walking. 

It was silent as the two settled comfortably into bed. They were both sitting against the wall, the blanket full of holes thrown to the end of the bed. Steve hoped it wouldn’t get too cold at night. He turned to his friend, only to find Tony staring at his mark again. Slowly, Tony reached out and just barely touched a finger to the edge of Steve’s mark. "Your soul mark?" he asked as if it wasn’t obvious. Steve supposed it could have been a tattoo. There was something in Tony’s eyes, a guarded expression almost, but then Steve blinked, and it was gone. 

They were sitting so close; it would take nothing to lean in and press his lips to Tony's. To feel how soft they were against his own, to slide his hand into the other man's hair and tilt his head just right to deepen the kiss. Tony was passionate about everything he did, and Steve had no doubt he would kiss with his entire being. “Yeah,” Steve answered instead. Tony pulled away, and the moment broke; if it even was a moment, Steve wasn’t so sure. "We should get whatever sleep we can so we can start figuring out how to get out of here tomorrow." Tony nodded, and they each shrugged back into their shirts, not wanting the dusty mattress to touch their skin, before settling into the bed facing away from one another.

When Steve awoke, the sun had already passed the meridian and was well on its way to dipping below the horizon. Outside, songbirds chirped, and Steve could hear the sounds of running water, which hopefully meant a river or stream was somewhere close. He groaned, rolling over and stretching; the bruise from the fight was tingling slightly, but his first assessment of his body from the previous night was still correct. 

"Hey," Tony mumbled sleepily. "Guess getting up is a good idea,” he muttered, “I was half hoping this was all a dream.”

“If it was a shared dream, I’d be just as worried,” Steve responded, getting out of bed. He stretched his arms above his head and turned to see Tony staring at the line of revealed skin when his shirt rode up; Steve couldn’t help smiling. “Our priority should be water and food.” If they were going to be there for a long enough time, they would need supplies to stay alive. “I also don’t think we should split up.”

While there didn’t appear to be any people, looks could be deceiving. Splitting up with no way to communicate would not be a good idea. “Agreed.” For once, there was no fight or disagreement on how they should do things, and while Steve was surprised, he tried not to let it show. From the chuckle he got, he knew he’d failed. “Despite what you might think, Oh Captain, My Captain, I don’t argue for the sake of arguing. I’m just usually right.” Steve snorted but couldn’t help smiling. “Alright, so food.” 

Luckily for them, the sound of running water Steve heard earlier turned out to be a river directly behind the house. It was small but fast-moving, which hopefully meant the water was clean. Since there was no way to tell, they took their chances and drank deeply. Tony made some quip about a brain-eating amoeba, which Steve did not find at all funny. With the worry of water out of the way, the next task was food. 

The two stood beside the river and looked around. To the right was the city, and there was little chance of finding anything there. There was a small clearing across the river and more woods on the other side. Even from their location, they could see birds flying from tree to tree and small rodents or alien squirrels running through the grass. So far, neither had seen any larger animals, which was a good sign; at least they wouldn’t get eaten. Far to the north of them were tall, snow-capped mountains, which likely fed their river. 

Going to the mountains would take too much time, so Steve turned and headed for the woods; Tony kept step beside him. The light filtered through the heavy canopy, giving an eerie glow to everything, but it was quiet with the sound of nature all around him. Steve couldn't ever remember being in a place so peaceful in his entire life, not in his old life, and certainly not his new one. He took enjoyment in walking at a leisurely pace as they scouted for food. There were plenty of small animals they could cook, but nothing in the way of vegetation that he felt comfortable enough to consume.

Everything was not quite the same as on Earth, but not quite as different as Steve would have expected either. “Is it strange that things look so much like Earth?” Steve asked. 

“Not really,” Tony answered, then changed directions and started walking faster. Steve didn’t know why, but he followed. “Look at Thor,” he said when they came to another clearing, “he looks like us, right? I mean, yeah, he’s got all that weird lightning power, and he’s stronger, but still looks like us. I bet Asgard looks pretty similar to some part of Earth too.” 

A ratty, run-down cottage stood at the edge of the small clearing, the garden filled with what looked to be familiar vegetables. There was something that looked like tomatoes, although purple and blue cabbage haphazardly growing among the brush, with vines snaking along the ground. Carefully, Steve looked around to make sure they were truly alone; he checked left of the cottage and around back, making a full circle before returning to Tony’s side. There were no footprints and nothing to indicate anyone lived nearby. Confident, Steve returned to find the man plucking various plants and sniffing them. “This smells like a tomato,” Tony said. “I’ve never been big on tomatoes.” He shrugged and bit into it before Steve could stop him. “Yep,” he confirmed, “a purple tomato. Gross.” 

Between the two of them, they managed to bring back a variety of food. “I think I saw fish in that river,” Steve said as they dumped their findings on the metal table. “I could try to catch a few, and we could have a proper meal.” Tony only nodded, seeming lost in thought.

It was short work to create a spear out of fallen branches and catch a few fish as they skipped along the surface of the river. He could only get three but combined with the vegetables they’d found; it was enough to make a proper meal. Gathering wood for the stove, Steve headed back to find that Tony was in the same place he’d been when Steve left; staring off into space. "Tony?" Steve placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and called his name again, "Tony."

Tony jerked once, and his eyes focused on Steve's concerned face. "You smell like fish." It wasn't what Steve had been expecting, but at least the man was no longer staring into the void. Steve rolled his eyes and stood. "Uh... why do you smell like fish?"

"Went fishing," Steve answered, “remember?” When Tony only stared at him, Steve sighed and started to cook. He loved cooking, although doing it on a wood-burning stove without spices or even oil was going to be interesting. He hoped he could make things at least edible. “What was on your mind?”

“Running through a list of supplies to fix the helmet,” Tony answered readily. They didn’t have a knife, but Steve managed to find a few rocks with sharp enough edges to cut. Tony picked one up and looked at it before grabbing the purple tomato. Surprisingly it cut easily, its juices spilling out onto the metal table. “We’ll need to collect the rest of the suit eventually, but it’s heavy, so finding a cart on wheels would be best.” He paused, then put the rock down and glared at the table. “I know I’ll be able to rig something; I’m not really worried about that,” Tony said, and honestly, Steve wasn’t worried about it either. He’d seen Tony work miracles with the least amount of tech before, and it was always astonishing. “I’m more worried about whatever killed all these people coming back.” 

Yeah, that was the question of the century, but Steve didn’t have an answer, so he didn’t offer any theories. They spent an hour cleaning, deboning, and cooking the various foods he had. Since it had been at least 24 hours when they’d last had food, there was minimal conversation while eating.

"There are a few buildings that I want to check out," Tony explained, once he’d finished most of his meal. "We should go before the sun sets. Days are shorter here, and I doubt we’ll have more than an hour before dark.” Steve nodded in agreement. “If I can get a few provisions, I might be able to get JARVIS back online and then hopefully get us home.”

Home after only one day would be a dream. Since they had no idea how they arrived, they would have a hard time getting home, but Tony was a genius; if anyone could figure it out, it would be him. “How will you power everything?” When Tony tapped his chest Steve’s eyes widened. "You can't just connect wires to your chest the whole time we're here," Steve protested. One, it was kind of freaky to be reminded the only thing keeping Tony alive was a glowing sphere in his chest, and two- "Is it even safe?"

“How do you think I figured out how to power the Iron Man suit?” At Steve’s incredulous look, Tony burst out laughing. “Oh man, if you could see your face! And no one else is around to see it. Damn, Hawkeye would have loved that one.” He chuckled and calmed. “No, I’m going to build another one.” 

Remarkable.

The remainder of the day was spent exploring the ruins and looking for anything Tony deemed necessary. As they entered the heart of the city, Steve had more time to look around. The buildings were made out of a white marble-looking material, smooth and glossy. Not many of the windows still held glass, but the ones that did had thick purple tinted glass that created a mirror effect. The sky overhead had no clouds and was not quite the same color as Earth’s, more lavender than Earth’s pure blue. There were also four thin rings arcing across the meridian. It was beautiful.

In the distance, vast mountains pushed up from the ground, rocky and snow-capped. The ground temperature was pleasant, maybe 75 degrees if Steve had to guess, and there was virtually no humidity. He wondered how high the mountains went and if he could survive their cold long enough to look around; he suspected not. 

They’d managed to find baskets and sacks to carry items in, which made bringing back their finds much easier than the fruit had been. There were wires, and a few metal sheets, some tools that looked like screwdrivers and a hammer, and something Tony was thinking would be a power source if he could figure it out. It had enough wires and circuitry on it that Steve didn’t doubt anything Tony said. Not that he would; when it came to technology, Tony was the expert. 

It was night when they returned to the house and Tony started to set things up. The moons were bright enough to see by, and they set up their findings on the metal table. Tony looked through everything, and everything had a place; there wasn’t much for Steve to do, so he just watched. If they couldn’t figure out a way home, they would need to worry about getting their house in living condition. Building up the house’s wall wouldn’t be difficult; there were tools and enough wood from other fallen buildings. He was reasonably sure he could find nails or something similar, so that wasn’t a worry. Since they had some fruit and vegetables at the other house, he could make some clippings to try and grow the food at their place once he’d cleared a space, and there were enough fish and small animals around to keep them from starving. 

“Can I help?”

The wire was in one place, the circuit boards in another, and glass and various metal sheets and tools in yet another place. Steve didn’t know what to do with any of it, but Tony could build a car with soap on a rope and a handful of nails, so he wasn’t too worried. “Unfortunately, there’s not much for you to do,” Tony answered honestly. He grabbed his helmet and got to work. 

Ten minutes later, Steve realized he was bored out of his mind and went to look for things to do. Using only water to clean didn’t do much, but from their scouting they’d found some old clothes and rags, so he was able to wash things enough where nothing was grimy. The counters were cleaned, and the sink cleaned out as best he could; although the pipes were either broken or full, so nothing drained. They didn’t have running water anyway so it didn’t matter much, but it would have made cleaning out their “dishes” easier. That was one thing he would need to look for, something better to cook and eat on than a thin slab of rock. Whatever had happened to the people hadn’t happened too long ago, so finding provisions shouldn’t be hard. 

When he finished with the kitchen, Steve went upstairs to see what he could do with the bedroom. It was quite remarkable that the upstairs still had four walls and a roof that didn’t appear to have holes, considering the level of decay of the other houses. The small closet had two sets of spare sheets folded nicely, and while they had a musty odor, they were clean and usable. Steve aired out the sheets as best he could, shaking off the dust, before putting them on the bed and making it as comfortable as possible. There were two extra pillows and pillowcases, and a thick quilt that Steve added to the bed. Since there was no running water, taking a bath would be impossible, but once the sun was up the next day, Steve planned to soak himself in the river to at least remove the majority of the grime. 

The moons were halfway across the sky by the time the two turned into bed. Steve was surprised Tony managed to pull himself away long enough to think about sleeping. Living in the Tower with him, Tony was scarce, sometimes locked inside his lab for days at a time, only leaving for bathroom breaks and the occasional outside threat that required Iron Man. His surprise must have shown because Tony laughed as he pulled off his shirt and set it aside. The light from the arc reactor glowed brightly, illuminating the room and drawing Steve’s eye. "Does it hurt?" he asked. He’d always wanted to know, but it was never a good time to ask; in the quiet of the abandoned planet, he figured it was as good a time as any.

"Not anymore," Tony answered honestly. "It ached at first, but I was so intent on getting out of the cave I didn't even think about it." He shrugged. "It's sort of become a part of me."

"Literally," Steve added, then smiled.

Tony chuckled. “Yes. Literally. Although, even if I did have the shards removed so I wouldn’t need one to keep me alive, I couldn't imagine not having one altogether.”

It made sense. It was his identity beyond just being Tony Stark the Billionaire. "One of these is powering the Tower, right? A larger one?" Tony nodded. "You're remarkable." Heat suffused Steve's face, and he braced himself for the quip Tony would surely throw at him, but instead, the man only smiled.

Before they turned over to sleep, Steve etched a tick mark into the wall indicating day one. If Tony could find a building with enough compatible technology, they should be able to create a beacon and send it home. Steve sighed as his eyes closed, praying it wouldn’t take long to get back. 

The next day, Steve and Tony ate what was left of the meal from the night before and took off to explore the ruins. They found more sheets, dishes, pots, pans, baskets, and jugs to carry water. There was an appliance that looked like a refrigerator in one of the houses, but it was too heavy to carry on their own, and without ice, it wouldn’t have done much good anyway. They found more tools and nails that looked like glass. 

“I don’t know what this stuff is,” Tony remarked, looking at the nails. “Crystal, maybe? But they’re sturdy. I mean, they’d have to be, to hold up buildings.” He put a few in his pocket and more in their scavenger sacks. “I’m definitely bringing some of this stuff home with us when we leave.” Steve could imagine it, Tony “inventing” an entirely new element. The look he was giving was like a kid in a candy store, it made Steve smile. 

“We can take back whatever we remember to carry,” Steve answered. 

Tony only hummed in response before moving further into the building. It was one of the tall skyscrapers with pristine marble outer walls and light purple-tinted windows. The inside was a darker marble, smooth and cold to the touch, with broken metal tables and chairs tipped over on their sides. Again, there was no indication of people having died inside the building, no scorch marks, no blood, just a run-down mess. They walked down a long corridor, opening doors as they went to see what was inside. When Tony opened the last entry, his arc reactor providing the light, his eyes widened. “Whoa,” he whispered, strolling through the racks upon racks of technological equipment. “This must have been some kind of data center. I bet these are servers and firewalls.”

Steve wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he assumed it had something to do with computers. The equipment looked vaguely computer-esque. The “kid in a candy store” look he was getting from Tony also suggested the technology might be useful. “So, can we make any of it work?”

“Dunno,” Tony answered immediately, although his focus was on the equipment in front of him. “I need to find a power source or find a way to get this stuff working.” He paused and looked around, “and a light would be handy.” The reactor gave off very little light, but it was enough to see a little in the darkened room. Tony went from shelf to shelf, rack to rack, looking at each bit of tech and making a comment about it all. They wondered if there were memory banks holding information on what had happened to the planet, but without a power source, they would have no way of knowing. Even without it, there was a lot to sift through, and they grabbed as much as they could to take back for Tony to explore. 

On day eight, Tony set up a small forge in the front yard for smithing whatever he decided needed smithing. A few times he’d mentioned building another arc reactor to give them power. It would be portable and strong enough to power the entire data center they’d found. Steve couldn’t follow everything Tony talked about, but the man didn’t seem to mind his questions. With only the two of them, Steve was glad; going too long without human interaction was not healthy for the psyche. 

At the end of their first month, Steve branched out from the city, exploring the outer ruins and the valley between the two mountains they were nestled between. It would be dangerous to travel too far without known shelter, and they both knew that no matter how much Tony talked about traveling farther to see if there were other cities. Although he did admit that at night he couldn’t detect any light pollution, and if another city was close enough, they should have been able to detect the light. Since they couldn’t, the chances of a city being close enough for them to get to without being caught out in the elements for longer than a day was pretty slim. It made Tony even more determined to find answers or get his helmet operational enough to send out a signal.

Steve woke suddenly, his eyes flashing open from ahalf memory of slamming into the ice. In front of him, eight rows of neat groups of seven ticks etched into the wall indicated how long they’d been on the strange planet. Two months. “Don’t stare at them,” Tony chastised from the other side of the bed.” Steve glanced over at him, wanting to argue, but knowing that Tony was right. It was good to know, but not dwell over. “If you’re going to explore today, maybe try a different path,” Tony suggested.

“The plateau?” Steve asked, and Tony shrugged. They stood up and dressed. Every day seemed to be the same routine. They woke, they ate, Tony went to work,, and Steve went to explore. Over the course of two months, they’d managed to get light, thanks to Tony’s brilliance in creating another arc reactor that plugged into various lighting outlets. Steve fixed the house and planted some of the vegetables outside their little house. They made new armor for Tony that didn’t rely on complex circuitry and an AI to function. So far, they hadn’t been able to get Tony airborne enough to explore, but it was only a matter of time. 

The day was much like every other day for the last two months, with little change; a cloudless lavender sky, calm warm winds, and little humidity. The buildings reflected the sunlight, making everything seem brighter; Steve still squinted against their glare though he was growing used to it. He wondered how the people dealt with it day after day, but the city was beautiful, nestled between mountains and the forest. The air was sweet and floral, reminding him of a calm spring day from his childhood. Taking a deep breath, Steve looked around, trying to decide which route to take to the tall plateau they’d landed on. Not being able to take water wasn’t ideal, but he would make due. Picking a direction, Steve started to walk. He took a different route than the one they’d taken on that first day, looking at the buildings and at the flora, which was similar but not quite the same as Earth. The flowers had just a bit more pigment and the grass and leaves were a bit more green. Steve stopped to watch a pair of birds flit from tree to tree; they were just a touch smaller than the birds in North America, and their colors were bright and vibrant as if a parrot mated with a finch. 

A movement to his left caught Steve’s attention, and he turned to see three squirrel-like creatures dart out from behind a tree, run across his path, and into the busted out window of the next building. Even without people, the planet was hardly quiet; there were chitters from the squirrels and joyful chirps from the birds. The winds blew softly through the city, rustling the grass and the trees, creating a whistling sound through the buildings and stirring up dust from the road. It was a comfort to hear as Steve walked. 

It took a little less than an hour for him to reach the top of the plateau. It stood tall over the city, allowing him a better view of the valley between the two mountains. In the far distance between two mountain peaks, he could see green streaks in the sky of several different shades. They moved slowly, lokoing like clouds and growing larger as he watched. The moons were just starting to peek above the horizon, close enough to be visible in the daylight with the sun reflecting off their surfaces. One was similar in size to Earth’s moon, but the other was much larger. Whether it was because it was physically larger or just closer to the planet, Steve didn’t know. The ever-present rings seemed to shimmer as the clouds in the distance lazily moved across them, eventually blocking them from view. 

Large storm clouds formed, rolling over the land with bright green lightning dancing from cloud to cloud. One bolt hit the ground, and an explosion erupted from the land around it. Steve’s eyes widened. The storm was violent, and being out in the open when it finally hit would not be good for his health. He turned, running for the path leading into the city as fast as he could. There was no way to tell how long it would take for the storm to reach their city, and without a communication device, he had no way to alert Tony of the oncoming danger. 

With a burst of speed, Steve ran as fast and hard as he could, making it back to the house in half the time, only to discover Tony not at his work table. “Tony!” Steve yelled, running up the stairs two at a time and bursting through the door. The hinges snapped from the force of his push, and the door slammed to the floor of the bedroom. There was no time to pick it up, and Steve turned and ran back outside. He had a pretty good idea where Tony was; a building not far from their house had an array of technology, monitors, tools, cabling, and things Steve didn’t understand but made Tony’s eyes widen in delight. Tony worked in the building almost daily, and Steve figured if the man wasn’t working on the helmet, he was likely in that building. 

The storm clouds were closer, almost at the edge of the city, and Steve could see the electricity slamming into the ground causing debris and bits of housing to fly everywhere. It was violent and terrifying and moving at an even faster pace than it had before. Steve wondered if it had something to do with the mountains being on either side of their city, causing the clouds to squeeze between them. It was a stupid thought as he raced through the city and kicked in the door of the building. Why was the door even closed? The building had no windows and no roof; it was ridiculous to close a door.

“TONY!” Steve yelled out again. In the distance, he could hear the rain falling and hoped it wouldn’t be acid rain or somethign worse. Since the water was drinkable, he didn’t think it would be, but they were on another planet so there was no way to truly tell. “TONY! There’s a stor-”

Turning a corner, Steve saw his friend, crouched in front of a rack of computers with his new lantern connected to the replica arc reactor. It gave off a weird purple glow, and Steve had a second to wonder yet again why everything was purple before a clap of thunder shook him out of his thoughts — it shook Tony out of his thoughts too, by the way the man jumped. “Steve!?” He yelled over the sound of the oncoming storm. “What’s going on!?” 

The wind picked up, sending bits of sand, and wood hurling through the air. It wasn’t quite what he’d imagined a tornado would be, but since he’d never been in one, Steve really wasn’t sure. “We have to go!”

Tony didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the lantern and ran for the door with Steve close behind. They slid to a stop, eyes wide as they saw a wall of rain and green lightning heading their way. 

Since there was no way to know where the storm was and when it would stop, they wouldn’t be able to outrun it. They looked around, both searching for something that would cover them. “Over here!” Tony called. He was kicking at a service door, trying to get the rusted hinges to open. Steve ran, sliding to a stop before the door and grabbed his shield. He slammed it against the rust and wrenched open the door. The rain and lighting were now inside the building, causing shrapnel to fly everywhere. They ducked as a chair went flying through the air, knocking into the door and ripping it from its rusted hinges. There was no time to retrieve it; the storm was upon them. Steve pushed Tony down and jumped into the hole, covering the man with his body and using the shield as a door. It was too small, but Steve’s body kept Tony covered, and the shield provided some cover for Steve’s body. He wiggled to get as much of himself into the service tunnel as he could. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

The wind kicked up the rain, sending wet sand to slap against his arms and legs. He cried out as the very air seemed to burn him, but he didn’t move. Only one of them would get out of the storm unscathed, and he wasn’t about to let Tony get hurt. The man tried to move, but Steve wrapped an arm around him and held him as tightly as he could, curling around Tony’s body so that only Steve was getting the brunt of the storm.

There was no way to tell how long it lasted; a minute? Five minutes? An hour? Steve didn’t know. After what seemed like an eternity, the storm moved on, and Steve slumped, panting from exhaustion and pain. His throat was scratchy from screaming, and it was getting harder to keep his eyes open. Distantly, he heard Tony trying to get his attention, but it felt like his head was underwater, the sounds and colors distorted.

“Come on,” Tony urged, “you need to get up.” Steve mumbled in reply, trying to push his friend away. As soon as his hand touched Tony’s skin, he screamed as agony shot through his entire body. “Yeah, I know, Jo Harding,” Tony soothed, “you just went through a plasma storm; I’m surprised you’re even half-conscious.” 

“A wha?” Steve asked. He grunted and hissed in pain but didn’t struggle as Tony pushed them both out of the hole. Together they made it outside. The sky overhead was clear again, with no indication that anything had happened, although in the distance, he could still hear the thunder. It was much louder on the new planet than it was on Earth. 

“A plasma storm,” Tony answered. He had an arm around Steve’s waist, as they stumbled towards their home. Steve’s shield was under Tony’s his other arm. Steve could see red blisters already forming on his arms as if he’d been burned, and he was sure his legs didn’t look much better, probably worse from how they felt. He stumbled a few times, almost falling, but Tony was stronger than he looked and kept him upright. By the time they made it back to the house, Steve was nearly unconscious though he did remember falling into bed, after that, everything went black.

Snippets of consciousness made it through his pain-addled brain. A cool cloth against his arms and legs, a gentle voice in his ear was whispering about nothing in particular. The voice grounded him, kept him from spiraling, but he still couldn’t hang onto the light for more than a few seconds. He woke up to a cup being held to his lips, and he tried to drink only to start coughing when he couldn’t swallow right. Again, the voice was whispering in his ear before the darkness took him. It happened several more times, although he didn’t know how much time that was until he could stay awake for more than a few seconds.

“Hey, Rip Van Winkle,” Tony greeted. “Glad to see you awake.” 

Steve groaned as he tried to claw himself into the land of the living once again. His head felt like it was full of cotton, and his body like he had jumped into a volcano. He also realized he could feel the sheets over his entire body, which meant— “Why am I naked?”

It was interesting seeing a flush of color rise to Tony’s cheeks, but in the next second, it was gone, and his ever-present smirk took its place. “Yeah, your clothes were kind of… well.” He pointed to the corner where Steve’s clothes were completely ruined and half missing. Steve’s eyes widened. “Yeah, plasma storm. It’s a… well, it’s kind of like an electrical storm, only instead of electricity, it’s plasma.” 

Tony’s expression was one of pity, and usually, that would have annoyed Steve. He’d been through a lot in his life and could handle a few electrical burns or plasma burns or whatever, but there was something else behind the expression. The more Steve looked, the more he was convinced Tony wasn’t pitying him, but he couldn’t place the emotion. Taking a breath, his eyes lingering on Steve’s soul mark, Tony continued, “you’re damn lucky you only got bits of plasma kicked up by the wind, otherwise, you’d be charbroiled.” Steve winced. “I would have said the storm explained the lack of people, but they had suitable housing. The marble and the metal roofs repelled the storm perfectly, so it makes little sense that was what caused the extinction.” Tony shrugged. “Plus, there’s other organic life here.” 

Steve tried to get up, but as soon as he moved, a wave of agony flooded his body, and he cried out. His back arched and his hands curled into fists, or they tried to, but the bandages covering his fingers, palms, and half of his arms prevented him from being able to move. He shuddered, panting harshly through his mouth until the wave of pain subsided. Spots danced in front of his eyes, and he blinked to clear them. Tony was there the entire time, not touching, but close. “You’re going to be in this bed for quite a while, Cap,” he whispered as if raising his voice would hurt Steve even more.

Once his breathing was under control, Steve opened his eyes; Tony’s eyes were back on his soul mark. “Alright,” Steve croaked out. “I think I’m going to sleep now,” he slurred as his eyes closed and darkness took him once more. There were brief moments where he woke up enough for Tony to get water into him or for him to relieve himself, but mostly, he slept.

“Steve,” Tony whispered gently. There were cool fingers on his face, sliding to the back of his head to tilt it back for Steve to drink some water. It was cool and wet, and he could feel it going all the way down. His limbs still throbbed whenever he moved, so he did his best not to, even if it meant he was truly helpless. 

Almost a week into his injury, Steve awoke to darkness. He looked around, but he was alone. According to the tick marks on the wall, which Tony must have taken over in Steve’s slumber, it had been five days since the plasma storm. He sighed and tried not to think that every time he got up to use the bathroom, Tony saw him completely naked. Not that he wasn’t used to it, having had to go through multiple medical tests both before and after he took the serum, but it was still strange. Tony never seemed to mind, which helped relieve some of his insecurities. Before he could think about it too much, Tony walked in carrying a tray of fruit. “Oh, hey!” he greeted enthusiastically. “You’re looking more lucid.”

Steve managed a small smile. “The spots aren’t in front of my eyes anymore,” Steve answered. He tried to take a piece of the offered fruit, but his fingers still didn’t seem to want to cooperate, and he scowled as it landed uselessly on his lap. Without a word, Tony picked it up and held it out. Steve knew his face was flaming, it felt as hot as the plasma storm, but he leaned forward and opened his mouth anyway, taking the fruit and chewing before mumbling a thank you. Bit by bit, the fruit was consumed, held by Tony’s fingers, while the man’s eyes remained on his soul mark. Steve was even more aware of his naked state, only a thin sheet between them.

When the fruit was finished, Tony put the tray aside and turned back to Steve, his eyes still on the soul mark. “My mark was in the same place,” he offered without prompting. Steve’s eyes snapped to his face, curious. Rarely did Tony offer up any real bits of information about himself, which made sense; when you lived your life in the spotlight, any bit of your true self was kept close to heart and guarded fiercely. “When they cut into my chest for… well, what became the arc reactor, it was cut away.” Tony looked down, tapping at the reactor a bit, then shrugged. “It was a star,” he whispered, and finally looked up at Steve. It was almost as if Tony was holding his breath, but he whispered, even lower, “surrounded by a circle. A star surrounded by a circle.”

Steve’s eyes were the size of planets, he wasn’t sure how they weren’t falling out of his head. His eyes slid down, resting on Tony’s arc reactor with the triangle in the center. Steve’s mark was different, it didn’t have a circle and had a triangle inside a triangle, but it was similar enough that Tony’s confession made his mark suddenly make sense. “There are blueprints,” Tony continued, “for when I finally get the shrapnel removed. An arc reactor using nanotechnology, and it looks exactly like this.” 

Tony moved closer, and Steve swallowed. He knew what would happen,, but he still wasn’t prepared for the press of lips against his own. The kiss was gentle, a sweet, barely brush of lips; but a jolt went through Steve’s entire body, and he couldn’t help the moan that punched out of him. Tony pressed just a touch closer, nipping at Steve’s bottom lip gently before flicking his tongue inside for a taste. Their heads tilted, aiming for a better angle and suddenly Steve found himself making out with the object of his desires. It was everything he’d ever wanted and had the added bonus of coming from his soulmate. The kiss continued for several long minutes with gentle sucks and sharp nips until Steve cried out for a reason that had nothing to do with pleasure. Tony pulled back immediately as Steve swayed from the pain. The spots were back, dancing in front of his vision and making his head spin. 

“Sorry,” Steve panted.

Tony’s hand was on the side of Steve’s face, holding him gently; it helped. “Nothing to be sorry for. You’d be a lot worse if it wasn’t for that super stuff floating through your system.” Steve laughed at that, then moaned as his head swam again. “Sorry, sorry.” There was silence for a long while as Steve got himself back under control. “You better?” Steve nodded. “Good.” Tony leaned back in to kiss him again; it was a quick, dirty kiss with a lot of tongue and teeth. Steve moaned again. “So I think I have a way to get a signal back home.”

It was nine weeks, three days, and a collection of hours since they’d arrived. The majority of that time had been spent working on the helmet or exploring alien tech. Steve was there to keep them alive while Tony worked on getting them back home. “Did you fix the helmet?” Their time on the planet had been nice, and Steve would be lying if he said he’d hated every minute of it, but he did want to go home, so a signal was perfect. 

The look Tony gave him said it all. There was no fixing the helmet, but it must have been something else. “I found a way to turn on the data center,” Tony exclaimed, pure glee in his eyes. Steve found himself smiling right along with his friend— his soulmate. “It’s going to take some working to create a few more of those power cells, but I’m thinking by the time you’re fully recuperated, we should be getting home.” 

“That’s great, Tony,” Steve whispered, “really.”

The next month was spent in a haze of agony and recuperation. Steve slept for long periods, ate a lot, and did his best to get out of bed and move every day. The burns were slowly healing, but there was no longer a risk of infection if he moved too much. Since getting himself out of any particular situation would have been impossible, Steve accompanied Tony to the data center every day. He handed over tools when his hands weren’t too painful, and helped hold wiring. He was able to stay in one part of the building and let Tony know if the lights worked or the monitors flickered. They worked quickly and surprisingly well together. Steve didn’t know quite what he was doing, but with Tony’s instructions, he learned fast. 

Their nights were spent exploring the soul bond. It took another week and a half before Steve was able to put any kind of weight on his burns, but once he did, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other. One little glance, and suddenly they were making out against a wall, against a tree, and one time against a rack of servers that beeped their displeasure when Tony’s ass hit a bunch of buttons all at once. They broke apart, laughing. “Sorry,” Steve apologized, but the look on his face was anything but apologetic. He had Tony’s shirt halfway off, and his own pants were unbuttoned. Had the beeps not pulled them apart, he had no idea what would have happened. 

Tony grinned. “We’ll pick this up later tonight.” And they did. Tony was careful as he explored Steve’s body, making sure not to hit the healing burns, which were scabbed but still sore to the touch. He laid gentle kisses along the bandages before moving back to Steve’s mouth. Steve loved kissing Tony; he could easily see himself kissing Tony for days without stopping. The man had a talented mouth and knew just how to pull the most delicious sounds from Steve’s body. 

It was an entire month spent in a haze of computer lingo Steve didn’t understand, and naked explorations, and honestly, Steve couldn’t remember a better month spent. By the end of it, Tony had a fully functioning communication device able to send a signal to Earth. He knew JARVIS’s frequency, knew his AI would understand any message. It was nearly dusk when they turned the machine on, typed out their message, and hit “send.”

It was a little anticlimactic. 

“So, what now?” Steve asked after five minutes of silent-staring into the night sky. Tony smirked, then pounced. Steve had no warning before he was pressed against a wall with Tony plastered to his front. His bandages had been removed three days prior, and while his skin was still sensitive, it seemed to add something when they messed around. Never in Steve’s life had he felt as exhilarated as when he was making out with Tony Stark. 

Steve moaned when a cool hand slid beneath his shirt to scrape against his abs. The muscles in his stomach jumped, and he gasped, tilting his head back. Tony took full advantage and latched onto his lover’s throat, sucking strongly to pull a bruise to the surface. “Don’t I have enough bruises?” Steve panted. His body was already responding, his cock hard in his pants, and he knew Tony could feel it against his stomach. 

Tony only chuckled and bit down, pulling a strangled groan from Steve. “You have burns, not bruises, and now I’m going to give you bite marks.” 

“Possessive much?”

“No reason to be,” Tony answered and bit down again where neck and shoulder met. Steve couldn’t help the way his hips thrust forward. By the faint chuckle he heard, he had a feeling Tony knew just how much Steve loved the sting of teeth mixed with their pleasure. Tony’s hand had just stolen into his pants to curl around his hard cock when a series of beeps drew their attention. With a curse muffled against Steve’s shoulder, Tony pulled away and went to see what it was.

A series of dots and dashes continued to play on repeat as they righted their clothes. Steve stopped, his pants still unbuttoned as he listened. “Morse code,” he said while buttoning up his pants. Tony looked at him, then at his communication device, and nodded. Steve listened a moment longer, then smiled before repeating the message aloud, “Stand by, Sir.”

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure what kind of comment to leave? Try an emoji reaction below!
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